#THE PARTITION ACT, 1893 
_________ 

##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
________ 

SECTIONS 

1. Title, extent and saving. 
2. Power to court to order sale instead of division in partition suits. 
3. Procedure when sharer undertakes to buy. 
4. Partition suit by transferee of share in dwelling-house. 
5. Representation of parties under disability. 
6. Reserved bidding and bidding by shareholders. 
7. Procedure to be followed in case of sales. 
8. Orders for sale to be deemed decrees. 
9. Saving of power to order partly partition and partly sale. 
10. Application of Act to pending suits. 



#THE PARTITION ACT, 1893 

##ACT NO. 4 OF 1893
[^1]

[9th March, 1893.] 

An Act to amend the Law relating to Partition. 

  WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the law relating to partition; It is hereby enacted as follows:— 

1. **Title, extent and saving.**—(1) This Act may be called the Partition Act, 1893. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India. 

(4) But nothing herein contained shall be deemed to affect any local law providing for the partition of 
immoveable property paying revenue to Government. 

2. **Power to court to order sale instead of division in partition suits.**—Whenever in any suit for 
partition in which, if instituted prior to the commencement of this Act, a decree for partition might have 
been made, it appears to the court that, by reason of the nature of the properly to which the suit relates, or 
of the number of the shareholders therein, or of any other special circumstance, a division of the property 
cannot  reasonably  or  conveniently  be  made,  and  that  a  sale  of  the  property  and  distribution  of  the 
proceeds would be more beneficial for all the shareholders, the court may, if it thinks fit, on the request of 
any of such shareholders interested individually or collectively to the extent of one moiety or upwards, 
direct a sale of the property and a distribution of the proceeds. 

3. **Procedure when sharer undertakes to buy.**—(1) If, in any case in which the court is requested 
under  the  last  foregoing  section  to  direct  a  sale,  any  other  shareholder  applies  for  leave  to  buy  at  a 
valuation the share or shares of the party or parties asking for a sale, the court shall order a valuation of 
the share or shares in such manner as it may think fit and offer to sell the same to such shareholder at the 
price so ascertained, and may give all necessary and proper directions in that behalf. 

  (2) If two or more shareholders severally apply for leave to buy as provided in sub-section (1), the 
court shall order a sale of the share or shares to the shareholder who offers to pay the highest price above 
the valuation made by the court. 

  (3) If  no  such  shareholder  is  willing  to  buy  such  share  or  shares  at  the  price  so  ascertained,  the 
applicant or applicants shall be liable to pay all costs of or incident to the application or applications. 

4. **Partition suit by transferee of share in dwelling-house.**—(1) Where a share of a dwelling-house 
belonging to an undivided family has been transferred to a person who is not a member of such family 
and  such transferee sues  for  partition,  the court shall,  if  any  member  of  the family  being  a  shareholder 
shall undertake to buy the share of such transferee, make a valuation of such share in such manner as it 
thinks  fit  and  direct  the  sale  of  such  share  to  such  shareholder,  and  may  give  all  necessary  and  proper 
directions in that behalf. 

  (2) If  in  any  case  described  in  sub-section  (1)  two  or  more  members  of  the  family  being  such 
shareholders  severally  undertake  to  buy  such  share,  the  court  shall  follow  the  procedure  prescribed  by 
sub-section (2) of the last foregoing section. 

5. **Representation of parties under disability.**—In any suit for partition a request for sale may be 
made  or  an  undertaking,  or  application  for leave, to buy  may  be  given  or  made  on  behalf  of  any  party 
under disability by any person authorised to act on behalf of such party in such suit, but the court shall not 
be bound to comply with any such request, undertaking or application unless it is of opinion that the sale 
or purchase will be for the benefit of the party under such disability. 

6. **Reserved bidding and bidding by shareholders.**—(1) Every sale under section 2 shall be subject 
to a reserved bidding, and the amount of such bidding shall be fixed by the court in such manner as it may 
think fit and may be varied from time to time. 

  (2) On any such sale any of the shareholders shall be at liberty to bid at the sale on such terms as to 
non-payment  of  deposit  or  as  to  setting  off  or  accounting  for  the  purchase-money  or  any  part  thereof 
instead of paying the same as to the court may seem reasonable. 

  (3) If two or more persons, of whom one is a shareholder in the property, respectively advance the 
same sum at any bidding at such sale, such bidding shall be deemed to be the bidding of the shareholder. 

7. **Procedure to be followed in case of sales.**—Save as hereinbefore provided, when any property is 
directed  to  be  sold  under  this  Act,  the  following  procedure  shall,  as  far  as  practicable,  be  adopted, 
namely:— 

  (a) if  the  property  be  sold  under  a  decree  or  order  of  the  High  Court  of  Calcutta,  Madras  or 
Bombay,  in  the  exercise  of  its  original jurisdiction, the procedure of  such  court  in  its original 
civil jurisdiction for the sale of property by the Registrar; 

  (b) if the property be sold under a decree or order of any other court, such procedure as the High 
Court  may  from  time  to  time  by  rules  prescribe  in  this  behalf,  and  until  such  rules-art  made  the 
procedure prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure in respect of sales in execution of decrees. 

8. **Orders for sale to be deemed decrees.**—Any order for sale made by the court under section 2, 3 
or 4 shall be deemed to be a decree within the meaning of section 2 of the [^2]Code of Civil Procedure (14 of 
1882). 

9. **Saving of power to order partly partition and partly sale.**—In any suit for partition the court 
may, if it shall think fit, make a decree for a partition of part of the property to which the suit relates and a 
sale of the remainder under this Act. 

10. **Application of Act to pending suits.**—This Act shall apply to suits instituted before the 
commencement thereof, in which no scheme for the partition of the partition has been finally approved by 
the court.



[^1]. The Act has been extended to— 

  (1) Dadra and Nagar Haveli (w.e.f. 1-7-1965) by Reg. 6 of 1963, s. 2 and the First Schedule. 
  (2) Pondicherry by Act 26 of 1968, s. 3 and the Schedule. 
  (3) Sikkim (w.e.f. 1-9-1984) vide Notification No. S. O. 651 (E), dated 24-8-1984, Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, 
s. 3(ii). 

[^2]. See now the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act 5 of 1908). 